...but in the spirit of NBC's Olympics coverage, this post will be brought to you on tape delay.
UNC opened official football practice under Larry Fedora on Friday and after Saturday's practice, the team held its photo shoot and Meet the Heels Day for the fans. I had the opportunity to attend the event and will throw in some personal observations along with news and notes from the first two days of camp.
**The big news on the first day was the announcement that senior backup linebacker Fabby Desir would be transferring. Desir is a JUCO transfer that had seen significant time last season and was penciled in as the backup to Kevin Reddick this year. The buzz has been that he had not bought in to the new program, although I'm not sure anyone expected him to leave, especially since he was featured on the player trading cards issued at Meet the Heels Day.
**There are a number of medical issues facing Carolina early. Fedora indicated Brennan Williams, Shawn Underwood, Devon Ramsay and Quinshad Davis have not yet been cleared by the medical staff, although Williams and Underwood are practicing.
**Quarterback Bryn Renner said he was playing at less than 50% last year due to injury and his soft cast. Fedora said he thinks Renner is finally comfortable with the offense.
**Defensive tackle Sylvester Williams has shed 30 pounds since last season and it shows in uniform. I imagine it will show in his agility on the defensive line.
**Senior kicker Casey Barth told me he was back to 100% and ready for a great season.
**I am no good at crowd estimates, but clearly a couple of thousand fans braved the sweltering heat to get autographs from the team.
**Fedora was clearly the favorite of the day, as his autograph line was the longest of all and he really seemed to enjoy meeting the fans and shaking hands and chatting it up.
**The ticket office announced during the event that there were a limited number of Blue Zone tickets unsold and they had placed indicators on the seats still available. By my count, there were less than 100 remaining.
**In a cruel irony, in addition to player/schedule posters, UNC was giving out ACC Championship Game posters for the 2012 event in Charlotte. Ouch.
**All things being equal, there was a very positive buzz surrounding the event and about the direction of Carolina football under Fedora. As has been mentioned many times, the new boss is not the same as the old boss and the intensity is felt in the players and the man himself.